Report Finds Major Economic Risks of Climate Change Missing from U.S. Government Assessment

March 13, 2014— Economists agree—the American public can expect to pay trillions of dollars if global temperatures continue to rise. Personal bank accounts and government coffers will feel the strain of climate change-driven increased food prices, insurance premiums, emergency aid, and more.

While the U.S. government has done scientifically sound work that begins to estimate those costs, many consequences of a changing climate are absent from the government’s forecasts, according to a report released jointly today by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Institute for Policy Integrity at NYU School of Law (Policy Integrity), and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Omitted Damages: What’s Missing from the Social Cost of Carbon finds that wildfires, floods, extreme drought, and storm surges like those seen in Superstorm Sandy are effectively valued at $0.

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